A light field camera is a type of camera that records 4-dimensional light field information for a scene. The light field information is captured on an imaging plane of the camera in a single photographic exposure. A light field camera typically includes a micro-lens array and a light sensor array. The light sensor array is positioned behind the micro-lens array. An image of a scene captured by a light field camera from a single photographic exposure is referred to as a “light field image.”
The light field image is formed of a plurality of smaller images of the scene. Each smaller image, in general, is a copy of the scene, or a part of the scene, captured by the light field image as a whole. Each of the smaller images is generated by one micro-lens of the micro-lens array projecting that smaller image upon the light sensor array for capture as part of the light field image. One characteristic of a light field image is that the light field image may be refocused using a data processing system after the light field image is generated.